


The Beginning of the Rest of our Lives

by AisForAlex



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Botanical Garden, CHICAGO THE MUSICAL - Freeform, First Kiss, Getting Together, Heathers: The Musical References, M/M, Mechanic Sirius Black, Remus is a Plant nerd, Theater Nerd Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 22:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20033611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AisForAlex/pseuds/AisForAlex
Summary: When Sirius is forced to watch Heathers the Musical who should he meet other than the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So for some reason I have recently become obsessed with the soundtrack for Heathers the Musical and from it the headcannon of Remus as Ram Sweeney was born. Please bear with me I have not personally seen either Heathers or Chicago performed live or have a whole lot of knowledge about how professional theater productions are run so any inaccuracy's are unintentional. So this story is nowhere near complete I have quite a bit more that I want to write about in this particular au however I don't know how often i'll be able to update because I write hella slow but so far I am liking where this story is going so i hope anyone who reads it will enjoy it to. Also here are the links to the full playlists for both musicals because they are completely worth a listen all of the important songs are linked within the story too: [Heathers](https://open.spotify.com/album/6r3jhI1kXM7NkEDowpkxOU) [Chicago](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zBY2QQQaeFSHWHOpciNGG)

“Come on Marlene,” Sirius whined, “I don’t want to go to some stupid musical,” obediently trudging behind her as they headed into the theater.

“Oh, quit your bitching,” they wove their way through the crowded auditorium until reaching the front row. Marlene gave Sirius a look of pure steel that left no room for him to argue she spoke in a hushed voice so as to not disrupt the other people settling into their seats, “Now, you are going to sit down, shut up, and enjoy my girlfriends final performance. Especially considering she very generously got us front row seats at a sold-out show.” Marlene gave him an icy smile daring Sirius to try to get out of watching the show as she took her seat next to him. 

“Yes ma’am,” Sirius conceded, “Geez, no need to be so dramatic.” Relaxing into the plush seat under him Sirius raised his arms and stretched them over his head prompting the lady in the row behind them to huff in annoyance. “So, what is it we watching on my first night off in the last month anyway?”

Sighing in exasperation, Marlene turned respond, “Gods, why am I even friends with you? I swear you ignore literally everything I say. We are watching a show called Heathers, its about high school students bullying, slut shaming, and murdering each other, and honestly if you would pull your head out of your ass for a moment because you think watching a musical will tarnish your “man pride” I think you would actually enjoy it.

Sirius choked on a laugh at Marlene’s comments, “Hey, its not my fault that you chatter so much I have to tune most of it out or I risk losing my hearing. And bitch please what “man pride” you know as well as I do that I lost any shred of pride I once had when we got plastered at your birthday party last year. You dared me to run through the shopping center in a banana hammock and a tutu.” At the mention of the absurd memory Marlene dissolved into full body laughs that had her gasping for breaths, the lady sitting behind them shushed loudly at the noise they were making. Turing in his seat Sirius leveled a stair at the woman, “Oh fuck off Karen, the show hasn’t even started yet.” Tuning back to address Marlene he sighed and admitted, “Honestly, I really just didn’t want to come because I haven’t had an actual day off in weeks, I kinda wanted to curl up on the couch with Rosie and binged eat while watching tv. Not to mention I’m just not a huge fan of musical in general.”

Finally regaining her composer Marlene gave him a small apologetic smile, “I know, I’m sorry. But I am really grateful you came with me tonight, I hate coming to these things alone, so thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said suddenly wrapping his arm around his friends’ neck to pull her down into a headlock and he gave her a light noogie just as the lights began to dim signaling the start of the show. Releasing her the two settled into their seats to watch the performance.

The show began with a cute girl with short curly hair [singing](https://open.spotify.com/track/3ymiiNIB6OxfWpPIjXKTo6), from the way that Marlene began was beaming and nearly bouncing in her seat Sirius surmised that this was Dorcas, the girlfriend he had been hearing about for weeks. Sirius was on the verge of tuning out whatever it was the performers were singing about when the flash of vulgar language caught his attention, once he started actually listening to the music he began notice the hilariously depiction of modern high school. He was just beginning to get into the performance when the most beautiful person he had ever seen walked onto the stage. The man was tall, lean, and dressed in a somewhat stereotypical letterman jacket, he had a mass of curls cropped into a neat undercut that gleamed golden in the stage lights. Sirius gasped a bit as he stalked across the stage and proceeded to knock a lunch tray out of Dorcas’s characters hands, he watched mesmerized until the man exited the stage. Quickly tearing through the program everyone had been given when they had first entered the theater to the cast section Sirius found him, the man with golden curls, Remus Lupin.

As the show progressed Sirius absorbed very little of the plot, instead his attention was completely absorbed in following Remus as his character bullied and harassed the others in the show. It was almost halfway through when Remus and the characters best friend began a [number](https://open.spotify.com/track/25wSBOvczKcXklW0Iub1CE) were each guy was vying to sleep with Dorcas’s character who was having none of their bullshit. Truthfully the number was somewhat predatory as the two ground up against the girl and grabbed her ass when she was clearly trying to get away from them, but at the moment Sirius’s brain was almost short circuiting as he watched Remus move his body, as he humped the air or made obscene gestures. At one point during the song Remus was in front of Dorcas grinding his ass back against her, he glanced through the audience and happened to lock eyes with Sirius, smirking as he seductively ran his hands down the front of his body to the lyrics he was singing. His hands were inching their way closer to his groin when Sirius caught the words falling from his mouth in a deep timbre, “Stroke my fur, make me purr,” Remus smirked his eyes still connected with Sirius’s as his hand finally cupped his crotch for just a moment before he moved on to the next part of his choreography.

‘I’ll stroke anything you want me to baby,’ Sirius thought to himself before he could school his mind, huffing a heavy breath, “Damn, I’m gay,” he whispered aloud.

Apparently, Marlene happened to catch his words because she leaned over to sarcastically whisper back to him, “No shit Sherlock, what else is new?” at her words the woman behind them hushed them once more prompting Marlene to silently flip her off. Remus returned to the stage for two more songs each time Sirius could swear he would lock eyes with him for a moment before continuing his choreography and each time Sirius could feel his heart skip a beat.

The rest of the production passed fairly quickly after that, Sirius was a bit lost from not paying attention to the plot earlier, though from what he could gather he probably would have enjoyed it if he hadn’t been distracted. The cast quickly file out onto stage to take their bows, Remus and the guy playing the other jock bound out to the stage, playfighting for a moment, then link hands to take their bow. As Remus bows dramatically low, he glances to the front row and seems to catch Sirius eyes once more his face breaks into a wicked grin that makes Sirius gasp for breath until the two men have exited the stage. As soon as the lights return to their normal brightness the auditorium is a chaotic mass of people scrambling to get out of their seats and up the aisles. As people spill into the lobby many rush over to the far section were the cast members had stopped to talk to fans.

Without missing a beat Marlene was sprinting over to the cast members hurdling herself at Dorcas who surprisingly caught her with ease considering she was a fairly petite person, all softness and curves. While Marlene was slim she was also completely built of muscle, with arms and legs that went for miles. Chuckling at his friend’s childish enthusiasm, Sirius followed after her a much slower pace. Upon reaching the cast Sirius found that Marlene had proceeded to wrap her long limbs around her girlfriend like an overly affectionate octopus, she detangled herself when she saw Sirius approaching.

“Sirius,” she paused dramatically “I would like you to meet the most beautiful and talented person in the room, this is Dorcas,” she swept her arms wide and dipped down in a bow. Dorcas however, simply rolled her eyes and extended her hand for a shake.

“Geez, you would think she was the one in show business. It’s nice to meet you Sirius.”

“Likewise, I’m glad to finally put a face to a name considering Marlene hasn’t shut up about you in weeks.”

“Did I hear someone say beautiful and talented? Are you guys talking about me?” a deep smooth voice came from behind Sirius, turning to see who had joined the conversation Sirius found himself face to face with a grinning Remus Lupin.

“You wish Lupin,” Dorcas retorted with a smirk before turning back to some fans who wanted to speak with her Marlene following like a puppy.

Remus’s Laugh washed over Sirius in waves, warming him from the outside in. Remus’s entire presence radiated warmth, honeyed curls damp with sweat from the heat of stage lights, his eyes were melted chocolate fondue, and his skin was covered in sun kissed freckles that gave the illusion of being tanned from a distance. Now that he was closer to the gorgeous actor Sirius noted that underneath the thick layers of stage make up he could just detect several scars adorning his face, one seemed to stretch across his nose and another cut through his right eyebrow.

With the girls distracted Remus turned his bright smile onto Sirius whose insides melted a bit at the sight.

“Hey,” he said extending his hand to Sirius “I’m Remus, you were sitting up in the front, right? I saw you next to Dorcas’s girlfriend, did you enjoy the show?”

Sirius accepted the offered handshake and was instantly enveloped in Remus heat, “Sirius Black, and yeah I did. The show was awesome. I didn’t think you guys would be able to see the audience from the stage though, I mean with so many lights and all.” Realizing he was still holding Remus hand; Sirius quickly released his grip and tucked his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

Chuckling lightly at Sirius awkwardness, “Yeah, for the most part we can’t see much beyond the front row, but I always like to keep my eye out for interesting people when I _can_ see them.”

Sirius smiled at the implication that Remus found him interesting enough to take notice of, “Well, I’m honored to have caught your eye.”

Remus simply grinned at the comment, “I’m glad you enjoyed the show, you should come to our next performance.”

Wrinkling his brows a bit in confusion, “I thought the whole reason Marlene brought me here was because this was the last performance?”

“Oh, not for Heathers,” Remus was quick to assure him, “we are actually doing a rendition of the musical Chicago, it opens in two weeks.”

“I see, well, count me in. I’ll be here.” A bit of heat was creeping up the back of his neck at the pleased expression the promise brought to Remus face. All to soon another cast member was grabbing Remus’s arm and pulling him away to do something, before disappearing into the crowed though he turned a bit and waved a farewell to Sirius mouthing the words ‘see you’ as he was swallowed by the people around them. With a sigh Sirius began scanning the crowed in hopes of finding Marlene so they could head home when suddenly an arm was slung around his shoulders.

“Do my ears deceive me or did you just willingly agree to come to another musical?” Marlene asked with a teasing lilt in her voice as she began dragging him through the crowd to head out of the theater. “After all your bitching and moaning, you are actually coming back?”

“What can I say Marls, I have a weak spot for golden curls and soft brown eyes,” he sighed wistfully remembering Remus beautiful face when he smiled at Sirius.

“Oh, my gods,” she groaned in exasperation pulling him down into a headlock and proceeding to drag him out to her car, “you are completely exhausting.”

“Admit it you still love me though.”

“Yeah, but I regret it every day.”

***

“Stop! Stop! Remus, you’re two counts behind again!” Remus’s director shouted up to him on stage in irritation, “Guys, you know these numbers, we open in less than two weeks it should be muscle memory by now. You are going to continue dancing until you know these steps so well you couldn’t mess them up even if you tried. Start from the beginning!”

Remus moved to his starting position on stage to begin the number once again with a resigned sigh.

“What the hell man? What is up with you today?” Frank, Remus’s best friend and costar, whispered to him as he also lined up to start again.

Shaking his head slightly he waved away Franks question mouthing the words ‘I’ll tell you later’ as their music started cuing them to begin their performance. The director had them run through the number several more times before he was satisfied that they had it down then had them move on to the next scene. By the end of their rehearsal Remus was exhausted.

“Ok guys, remember tomorrow we start dress rehearsals in full costume so please don’t be late. Have a good night everybody,” their director finished releasing the cast for the night.

Remus and Frank followed the throng of chorus dancers to the dressing rooms to change out of their practice clothes. Peeling off from the group of cast members to slip into the dressing room they shared Frank made quick work of questioning Remus.

“Ok dude, spill. What the fuck is up with you today? I haven’t seen you be that off on choreography since you broke your foot last year and even that was because the cast was too heavy to move in time.”

With an undignified groan Remus flopped into his chair leaning back until it looked like he might topple over and throwing an arm over his face, “ugg, well the other night, after closing Heathers I kinda met this guy”

“Oh, ho, ho, I see. So, you’re distracted because of a guy, well I have to say it’s about fucking time I was beginning to think you were a fucking eunuch or something. Anyway, tell me about this guy that is driving our ever so focused Remus to distraction.” Frank sat down in his own chair and waited for Remus to respond. 

“Man, I don’t know, he was just so fucking gorgeous. He had this long black hair, one side of it was in this tight braid but the rest of it was loose and thick, and his eyes they were so pale they looked almost silver, I didn’t even realize people could have silver eyes Frank!” Remus groaned suddenly sitting up with a wistful look on his face, “and dear lord his body, he was shorter than either of us but he looked ripped I just wanted his arms wrapped around me. I saw him in the audience first he was up in the front row, honestly, I could barely keep my eyes off him during the show. I met him afterwards, he was super nice and cute.”

“That’s awesome Remus,” Frank said enthusiastically “I’m glad you finally found someone your interested in, did you get his number?”

“No, I got pulled away before I got an opportunity to ask for it,” Remus jumped from his chair and began pacing the small space of their dressing room, “but I told him he should come to Chicago and he said he be there.”

“I see, is that why you are so anxious? You don’t think he’s going to come?”

Still pacing and now biting at his short nails, “I don’t know, I hope he does, I just can’t get his face out of my mind.”

***

“Come on Marls, please?” Sirius asked over his shoulder while working on a client’s bike.

“I’m sorry Sirius I can’t. I have plans with Dorcas that night, besides why would you want me there anyway? Aren’t you trying to hook up with someone?” her voice echoed from underneath the car she was currently working on.

Sirius simply looked over to where she was working, “Yeah, but I don’t really want to sit through the entire show alone,” he replied with a bit of a whine in his voice.

“Well suck it up buttercup, you’re the one who said you would go not me, and I already have plans.”

Sirius whimpered a bit at the rejection before turning back to his work.

***

Sirius settled back into his normal life for the next two weeks the only reminder of what’s to come was the image of Remus’s blinding smile that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in his mind. The time passed quickly until Sirius once again found himself walking into the theater’s auditorium finding his seat. Unfortunately, he had been unable to get another front row seat but he was still close enough to have a good view of the stage. Sirius fidgeted in the plush seats feeling a bit awkward to be there alone especially considering the production. Unlike with Heathers, Sirius was actually somewhat familiar with the musical Chicago. An old boyfriend of his had forced them to watch the movie together, he remembered the female dominant cast and heavily sexual themes he couldn’t say he was a fan.

Quickly though the lights began to dim signaling the show was beginning, Sirius jumped a bit when a gunshot echoed throughout the auditorium, he didn’t have a chance to panic as the sound of [jazz](https://open.spotify.com/track/3cGmUgp7hF5Eb8NyuEmtCA) smoothly followed prompting him to realize that it had simply been a sound effect. There was a flurry of activity on stage until a velvety voice began the opening number, Sirius was startled to realize that the one singing was a male’s voice. The man wrapped in several scraps of black fabric that scarcely covered his body each piece positively dripping with beaded fringe that swished with each slow evocative step through the countless chorus members, the men were all dressed in similar garments while the women were dresses in 1920 style suits. Once the spotlight had found the man Sirius vaguely recognized him as the person that played the other jock in Heathers.

Movement on the opposite side of the stage caught his attention, Sirius recognized Remus’s long lean figure he was wearing what looked like a thin satin dress in a light lavender that ended at his strong thighs a faux fur wrap was adorning his shoulders, he was talking with another man that Sirius hadn’t seen before. The man singing reached a pause in his song allowing several lines of dialogue between Remus and the other man to be heard, though brief it revealed that Remus’s character was sleeping with the man in hopes of getting an audition at a jazz club. When the song started once more Remus and the man began moving in sync to the beat of the music, around them the lights dimmed low except for a single spot light from below which cast shadows of them doing lewd acts still moving to the beat of the music. The song seemed to be building to a crescendo, as the man continued to move evocatively amongst the chorus members several people dressed as 1920 cops crept in between the writhing bodies around him. As the man sang the last words of the song all of the cops simultaneously pointed their guns at him while the chorus members dropped as if they too had been killed. A short pause in the music allowed time for Sirius to glance through his program to look at the cast, he quickly realized that the entire production was gender bent, where the original story had a predominantly female cast this version was dominated almost entirely of men. Finding Remus’s image in the pamphlet Sirius found he was playing the leading role of Roxy Hart, directly below him was the image of the man who had opened the show, the program supplied his name is Frank Longbottom playing the other lead of Velma Kelly.

At this point Sirius was thoroughly enraptured in the twisted story, he watched in awe as Remus’s character shot the man he was screwing in cold blood, lights flashing as the gunshot rang throughout the theater. Sirius watched as Remus convinced his husband to take blame for the murder, only to have him subsequently outs him as the murderer. Throughout these events Remus is clad in nothing but a pair of tight black boxer briefs and a sheer pink nighty that causes Sirius to catch his breath at the sight him. Remus’s voice is deep and velvety as he [sings](https://open.spotify.com/track/5uryqFuYGHHMkEFQGHoCsU), his body moving fluidly across the stage to lay languidly across the top of the enormous piano in the orchestra, his long limbs on display through the flimsy gauze of his costume.

The story picks up speed after Remus is arrested for the murder, several more songs pass with each new character seeming to be more scandalous then the next. There was an interesting number where all of the characters in the prison sang seductively about how they killed their husbands, and another where each character was portrayed as marionettes all controlled by a woman dresses in a neat 1920’s style suit.

As Remus once again took to the stage to begin his next solo [number](https://open.spotify.com/track/7nOhijGWNbwBpzmQ6XqLRG) Sirius became concerned that he might have a heart attack from his reaction. Remus was wearing nothing but a white leotard encrusted with countless gems that glinted and sparkled in the bright stage lights. Thus far most of the performances had been strikingly similar to what Sirius had remembered with only minor changes to make them more logical for men to perform, and this one was no exception. Remus was moving languidly around the stage casually brushing against chorus members as he sang, his hands seductively touching his body to the lyrics. Sirius could feel his blood rush up to refresh his omnipresent blush that hadn’t faded since the opening number.

Now thoroughly enjoying the performance Sirius was a bit sad to realize that they had reached their final [number](https://open.spotify.com/track/1ECXl86UHdDXKMzNcjXHwQ). Remus and Frank had taken to the stage once more, moving fluidly together as they danced in unison. Each was clad in an outfit that was seemingly entirely made of beaded fringe, Remus was in black while Frank wore white, their every movement causing the beads to swish and reveal glimpses of toned muscle. Their voices harmonized together mingling with the smooth jazz from the orchestra until they strike their final pose, each positioned as if about to fire a small pistol at their treacherous lovers. At the last note Sirius was embarrassed to find himself on his feet amongst the rest of the audience cheering at the top of his lungs.

The cast quickly took their bows each enjoying that last moment of spotlight before returning as a group for a final farewell. Once the lights returned to a normal brightness Sirius was among the throng of people struggling to exit down the narrow aisles. Upon reaching the lobby Sirius made a beeline to where the cast were waiting to greet fans, Remus seemed to be scanning the crowed of people looking for something or someone. When his eyes landed on Sirius his face broke into that blinding grin that had been haunting Sirius’s dreams for the past two weeks.

“You made it!” he beamed once Sirius had made it over to him, “I wasn’t sure if you would actually come.”

“Hey!” Sirius cried a bit defensively, “I’m a man of my word, I said I would be here so of course I came.” 

“Well I for one am happy for that. Did you enjoy the show?”

“Actually, I did, you guys all did amazing. Though I do have to say my eyes were on one particular character more than the others so they may have been subpar and I probably wouldn’t have caught it.”

“Oh, and which character might that have been?” he asked with a bit of a flirtatious lilt in his voice.

With a wicked smirk twisting his lips he teased, “You know, it was just something about Daddy Morton, hmm I just couldn’t take my eyes off of him.”

“Hey!” he squawked indignantly at Sirius teasing.

“I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding,” he appeased through his laughing. Voice turning a bit husky Sirius continued, “How could I look at anyone else when you’re dressed like that?” his eyes slowly raked up and down Remus’s body still in the skimpy beaded outfit from the final number. Sirius grinned at the blush that crept up Remus’s neck.

Quickly recovering from the comment Remus regained his composure enough to ask, “Hey, so if you don’t mind waiting for me to change and clean up a bit, would you want to go get coffee with me?”

With a smile pulling at his lips Sirius couldn’t have refused the offer if he had wanted to, “Remus, I would love to get coffee with you.”

***

Sirius had been waiting outside the theater for about twenty minutes before he heard footsteps approaching. Glancing up, he noticed Remus and Frank now in casual clothes and sans stage make up were walking closer. Quickly jumping up from the bench he had taken residency on Sirius cantered over to meet them halfway.

“Jesus, you’re right he is hot,” Frank ‘whispered’ to Remus in a way that made it obvious he wanted Sirius to hear him speak, when they reached each other. 

A deep chuckle rumbled through his chest as his eyes locked on Remus, who in Sirius’s opinion was just as attractive in his faded blue jeans, and worn knit jumper as he was in the skimpy outfits he was wearing on stage. “Am I now?” he asked eyes settling to peer into Remus’s chocolate ones. In the dim yellow light still shining from the theaters entrance Sirius could only just see the flush creeping up Remus’s neck at the comment. Without missing a beat Frank took another couple of steps closer extending his hand in greeting.

“Frank Longbottom,” he said as Sirius shook his hand “sorry to intrude but I had to see for myself who exactly could be attractive enough cause Remus to fuck up his choreography.”

“Sirius Black, nice to meet ya.” He said as a quick introduction. At this point Remus’s blush had painted up his cheeks and burned red on his ears.

“Alrighty, stop embarrassing me you asshole,” Remus cautioned slinging his arm around to wrap Frank in a headlock. “You’ve had your fun, now go away.”

“Can’t… breath…” he wheezed from under Remus’s arm. “Fine… I’ll go… I’ll go…” he pleaded until Remus finally released him. Once free he dramatically turned up his nose making a show of straightening out his cloths and hair.

“Goodnight you jerk,” he muttered.

“Eh, you started it,” Remus shrugged “I’ll see you tomorrow, and tell Alice bye for me would ya?”

“Yeah, no worries. Night Sirius, it was nice to meet ya.” Frank said with a small wave before jogging over to his car.

Laughing a bit nervously Remus shifted on his feet, “hey, sorry about Frank. He’s my best friend, but he’s also a _giant_ d-bag.” Laughing again Remus awkwardly fiddled with the strap of the brown leather book bag slung over his shoulder that looked like it had definitely seen better days.

With a small smile tugging at his lip Sirius responded in a gentle voice, “Don’t worry about it, he seems pretty nice. So, you wanna go get that coffee now?”

“Yeah, sounds great, lets get out of here.”

“Umm… so do you want to drive together or meet up somewhere?” Sirius asked a bit unsure of how they should proceed.

“Oh, I guess I didn’t really think about it. Umm… I usually walk to the theater so I don’t have my car. But I guess we could walk if you want?”

“How about I drive?” Sirius purposed now feeling a bit awkward himself, “I can give you a ride home after, if you want that is.”

Huffing a breath of amusement at their delegating Remus agreed, “You know, that sounds like a plan.” 

With the decision made, Sirius smiled and led Remus over to where he had his bike in the parking lot.

“Ok, well…” Remus said with a hint of nerves in his voice, “so I realize you have the whole biker aesthetic going on, but to be honest, I really wasn’t expecting this,” his hand shaking slightly as he gestured at the intense looking black Harley.

“What? You’re not scared, are you?” Sirius’s voice held a challenge in it as he handed Remus a helmet and mounted the bike.

Remus bristled at the challenge and with a confidence he rarely felt off of the stage he clipped the helmet on and slid into place behind Sirius as the bike roared awake, “Not on your life.”

“Well alrighty then,” Sirius grinned, “hold on tight.”

***

Their ride through town was short, but with the way Remus arms wrapped around Sirius’s torso would tighten on each corner, the way he would gasp breathlessly in his ear as he accelerated, and the pure heat of his body pressed flush against his own Sirius was pretty sure he had died and gone to heaven. All too soon they had reached one of the few coffee shops that were open this late. The moment Sirius had killed the engine Remus nearly jumped off the bike.

“Oh, my gods, well that was an experience. I can feel my heartbeat throughout my entire body and I think I may have lost hearing in my left ear.”

Sirius just laughed at Remus’s babbling as he took off his own helmet and climbed down form the bike, “Come on, admit it you thought it was fun.”

Crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall of the coffee shop in an attempt to look nonchalant Remus rolled his eyes and reluctantly admitted, “Ok, fine, it wasn’t the worst thing ever.” The small smile that broke out on his face ruining his attempt of pretending he didn’t enjoy the ride.

“See, its fun. Nothing to be afraid of.” Sirius said as he attempted to untangle his hair from the bun he had twisted it up into under his helmet.

“Was it really that obvious I was scared?”

“Yeah, I kinda thought you might pass out for a moment there.”

“Oh, shut up, I wasn’t going to pass out.” Remus rolled his eyes at the teasing comment as he pushed away from the wall to head inside, “come on, lets go.”

Sirius simply followed behind him with a grin on his face.

***

After ordering their drinks Remus and Sirius settled into one of the cozy corner booths each holding a warm mug in their hands.

“So, Sirius, I gotta say you really don’t strike me as a musical theater enthusiast.”

“Hm, I guess the cats out of the bag. Yeah, I can’t say I am. To be honest I didn’t really want to go to Heathers in the first place. Marlene, the friend I was with that night, dragged me there because she didn’t want to go alone and her girlfriend got us front row tickets so she guilt tripped me into it. But even though I’m no theater connoisseur I did enjoy the show tonight, the gender bent concept was unique and well executed.”

“It would be a theater critic,” Remus replied jokingly, “a connoisseur is of wines and cheeses. A critic is of arts and theater, but I am glad you enjoyed it.”

A look of mock outrage graced Sirius’s face as he pretended to be offended, “Excuse me are you correcting my French, _how dare you, you plebian. I’ll have you know that French fries runeth through my veins.”_

A quick flash of surprise flashed on Remus face it was quickly replaced by one of confusion, _“what are you talking about French fries aren’t actually French, though I do have to say your enunciation is impeccable. Where did you learn?”_

“The fries are irrelevant,” Sirius said laughing at the ridiculousness of that sentence, “my parents are French, growing up I wasn’t allowed to talk to them in English.” At the mention of his parents Sirius’s mood seemed to dip a bit so he quickly directed the conversation back to Remus. “But what about you, you seem to know the language well.”

“Yeah, a foreign language was required for the college I wanted to go to so I studied it all through high school, but I really enjoyed it so I continued learning it into college as well.”

“Nerd,” Sirius said with a snort.

Grinning and shaking his head Remus chuckled, “Oh, you have no idea. Anyway, so now I know you don’t care for theater and you speak French, but what else do you do?”

“Hmm, I don’t know my life is kinda boring, I’m a mechanic here in the city, I work mostly on motorcycles. I’m a bit of a workaholic so I guess I don’t have many hobbies but I love reading, and umm…” Sirius looked away trying to find something else interesting about himself to say that wouldn’t open conversations he wasn’t really ready to talk about. “Um, oh, and I knit.”

“You knit?” Remus asked amused by the image of Sirius knitting.

“Yes, I knit. I find it therapeutic don’t judge me.”

“Nope not judging, no judgment here,” Remus raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, “I think it’s kinda cute.”

Sirius blushed at the complement and took a sip of his coffee to hide behind the cup for a moment, “Enough about me, who are you Remus Lupin?”

“Hmm, well you know I work at the theater obviously, but that is actually just my side job. Right now I am currently working on getting my PhD in botany so I totally get that whole workaholic thing. I guess I don’t really have a lot of down time but when I do I’m either holed up in my apartment tending to my plants or out hiking I love being out in the woods it just has such a calming effect on me.”

“Well that’s fucking awesome, but I do feel that it is necessary for me to call you a nerd again, nerd.”

“Thanks for that,” Remus smiled as he sipped his drink.

“Yeah, no problem my pleasure.” The two laughed at the stupid exchange then dissolved into conversation once more talking about what books Sirius would read, about Remus’s studies, their favorite movies and foods and everything else until the barista came to tell them they were closing for the night.

The ride back was far too short for Sirius’s liking as the feeling of Remus’s arms wrapped around him was making his heart race more than it ever had before. At Remus’s directions he pulled up in front of an apartment complex not far from the theater, when the engine had quieted Remus slipped off and removed his borrowed helmet.

“Thanks for coming tonight, I actually had a great time,” Remus said shuffling awkwardly on his feet still a bit shaky from the ride.

“Yeah, me too. So,” he paused, “would you maybe want to go out with me again sometime?”

“Absolutely, just text me the details,” Remus leaned down to were Sirius was sitting still on his bike and placed a small chaste kiss on his cheek before moving back and heading into the complex. As he slipped through the door, he turned to call over his shoulder, “Night, Sirius.”

“Good night Remus,” he replied, when the door fell closed the smile that lit up Sirius’s face stayed there for the rest of his drive home. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took way longer to finish than I anticipated, between job searching and mental health struggles writing kinda got pushed to the back burner. Also side note in the last chapter there are a couple of lines of dialogue that where supposed to be written in French and I low key forgot to denote that, anyway those which i think were previously in parenthesis those bits are now in italics. Well I hope that you enjoy this chapter I think it turned out decent.

“Sooo, how was the show?” Marlene’s voice drawled sickly sweet and heavy with implications as she leaned against the car she was meant to be working on. Glancing up from the bike in front of him Sirius couldn’t even attempt to hid the smile lighting his face up at the memory of his night with Remus. 

“That good eh?”

“Oh, shut up,” Sirius challenged quickly picking up the rag next to him and chucking it at Marlene’s face, “and get to work before you get both of us in trouble for slacking off.”

Rolling her eyes Marlene pushed away from the car and opened the hood to begin working, “Come on you know as well as I do that Aberforth would never scold sweet little me,” she placing her hands around her face and batted her eyes in an attempt to look the picture of innocence their boss thought she was. Quickly though her sunny smile turned to a wicked grin worthy of any trickster, “You on the other hand, well who’s to know what he would do with you.”

“Oh, my gods. Stop procrastinating and just do your job would ya?” Sirius sighed with resignation.

Letting out a long drawn out groan, “Fine, if I start working will you tell me about your date the other night?” her face morphed into a pout as if that might convince Sirius to share his gossip. 

“Jesus, first off it wasn’t a date but fine. I’ll tell you about it,” he paused until Marlene’s self-satisfied smirk at her victory of coercing him into sharing had faded and she was elbow deep into the inner-workings of the vehicle. “Well… I actually really enjoyed the performance, the entire show was gender bent and Remus was playing one of the leads.” Sirius groaned at the memory of Remus wearing nothing but skimpy lingerie, “Gods, that man is gorgeous, some of his costumes were next to nothing and honestly I think I may have died for a minute there at the sight of him.” He paused the story for a moment to find a different tool then continued, “We went to get coffee after the show, and Marlene I swear this man is to good to be true because I think his personality is almost as amazing as his body, he’s smart and funny and he speaks French of all things! He kissed me on the cheek when I dropped him off, it was so cute I think my heart melted a bit,” he sighed wistfully thinking about that last moment before Remus left. Leaning onto the bike he was working on he looked over to where Marlene was still reaching into the car, “Is it too early to say I’m in love?” he sighed again looking like a lovesick puppy.

“Yes,” she replied without missing a beat, “Gods, you’re a sap, how have I never realized how much of a sap you are before now?”

“Probably because I haven’t dated in almost a year and a half, not to mention that relationship was mostly just sex because he was kinda a d bag. I can’t help it if I am a hopeless romantic for someone who is beautiful and easy to talk to.”

“Jeeze, calm your perky man titties, you barely know this dude,” she grimaced and pulled her hand out of the car to reveal it covered in a viscous black substance that might have been oil at one point, walking over to where Sirius was working she continued, “please at least tell me you are going on a date before you ask him to marry you.”

“Potentially, yeah,” Sirius eyed her suspiciously as she approached him, “I asked if he would like to go out again and he told me to text him the details I just haven’t had a chance to yet.”

“Well that’s something at least,” suddenly Marlene was behind him and had proceeded to wipe the sticky black substance from her hand onto his cover shirt. Sirius was so shocked that he was barely able to contort his face into a grimace of outrage before she was laughing and sprinting to the other side of the workshop out of range of his wrath.

“You bitch!” he cried, “this was my last cleanish shirt! Now I have to do laundry!” his voice turned from one of outrage into a more of a winy pout.

“Oh, well sucks to suck,” she said through her laughing. “Anyway, where were you thinking of taking him?” She asked in hopes of getting the conversation back on track and to avoid him retaliating for her prank.

Still grimacing and attempting to scrub the goo off his shirt with a rag, Sirius replied, “Well he said he is studying Botany and he enjoys hiking, so there is this little pace I know that’s not super far from here. It’s a small botanical garden that has a short hiking path along the border. I was thinking we could go to lunch then to the garden.” Giving up on his shirt Sirius got caught up in his idea, “but you know I’m not sure about it though, I mean since plants are kinda his thing he’s probably been there before. What do you think?”

Once again working Marlene glanced up from what she was doing, “well, I don’t really know him but in my mind if he is really as passionate about it as you are saying I would think that even if he has been there before he would probably still enjoy going especially with company.”

“Hmm, you’re probably right, besides if all else fails we can always do something different. I think I’ll text him after work and see when he would have time to go.”

“Nice, it sounds like you’ve got a plan. Now, your turn to listen to what I did this weekend…” Marlene launched into her tale of what she and Dorcas had gotten up to over the passed two days. Sirius listened with half an ear still thinking about Remus.

***

“Ugg, my feet hurt so fucking bad. Those heels in the last number kill me every night,” Frank complained as he and Remus exited through the back of the theater at the end of the night.

“Yeah I know, I feel you man, to be honest I think I might lose a toe from the number of blisters I have,” Remus agreed trudging along behind him as they began the short walk towards their shared apartment complex.

“Do you think if I amputate my feet, I could learn to function on prosthetics quick enough for our next show?”

“You know what, I think you just might be able to,” Remus said in a tired deadpan, “give it a try and let me know goes.” A light vibration emanating from his pocket startled Remus for a moment until he grabbed his phone to see who was contacting him, as the phone continued vibrating in his hand the name Sirius Black lit up the screen.

With barely a though he answered the call, “Hello?”

“Remus,” Sirius’s deep smoky voice whispered into Remus ear, “hey, so I know you told me to text you but I… I kinda wanted to hear your voice,” a nervous chuckle echoed through the phone when he stopped speaking.

A bit of heat crept up Remus’s neck at the thought of Sirius wanting to hear his voice, “Oh? Really? That’s sweet, it’s good to hear from you,” he answered lowering his voice a bit so Frank wouldn’t overhear a small smile on his lips. “What’s up?”

“Well, I was hoping I could take you out. On a date not like an assassination kinda way or I mean if you’re into that I guess it could be arranged but I think I would be sad if you died before we actually got a chance to date but if that’s really what you want I understand after all who wouldn’t want to die in a fatal bus ‘accident’- you know you can stop me at any time during my ramblings.”

Remus laughed a bit breathy, “To be honest, I was kinda curious how long you could keep it going and I would love to go out with you. What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, so I was thinking, and if you want to do something else no worries. But there is this botanical garden that’s not too far out of town, I was thinking we could get lunch then hike to the garden if you want?” Sirius’s voice seemed to be asking for approval of the plan like he was nervous that Remus would hate the idea. On counterair Remus’s entire demeanor changed at the mention of the botanical garden, a massive smile split his face and his eyes glittered in the moonlight like a puppy excited for a new toy.

“Really?” he asked his voice suddenly louder than the hushed tone he had been using, “that sounds perfect, I would love to.”

Sirius breathed what seemed like a sigh of relief, “Awesome, I’m glad, what’s your schedule like? Preferences for days and times?”

Remus paused for a moment to mentally check his calendar and make sure he didn’t already have plans before responding, “Hmm, since you mentioned lunch how about you pick me up around noon thirty next Sunday, would that work for you?”

“Noon thirty?” he asked through a surprised laugh at the odd phrasing.

“Yes, noon thirty, got a problem with that?” there was a teasing playful note in his voice along with the small challenge.

“Nope, no problem at all. Sunday, noon thirty sounds like a plan.” Sirius’s small chuckles were still echoing through the phone washing over Remus making him shiver.

“I guess I’ll see you then,” 

“Looking forward to it.”

“I guess good night then.”

“Good night Remus, sleep well,” the low cadence of Sirius’s voice as he whispered goodbye made the hair on the back of Remus’s neck stand up and it felt as if the man himself were directly behind him tenderly speaking into his ear.

When the line died Remus stood for a moment just smiling at his phone and the conversation they had.

“And who might I ask was that? Not that I don’t already know which insanely attractive biker you were talking to, but I do like confirmation when I know things.” Frank asked suddenly slinging his arm around Remus’s shoulders.

Instead of acknowledging the question Remus rolled his eyes at his friend and began dragging him forward toward their apartment complex, “Oh, come on you gossip, I wanna go home and ice my feet before I develop a permanent limp.”

***

On Sunday morning from the moment he woke up Remus was filled with anxiety. Each tick of the clock hanging in his kitchen would make him jump as he filled his coffee pot with water, standing in the shower he could feel his insides writhing as if a Xenomorph would burst through his stomach, and under the soft knitting of his sweater Remus could feel his skin crawl with hypersensitivity until he was tempted to tear his skin from his own body just to escape the sensation.

He still had thirty minutes until Sirius was meant to show up and the time seemed to be passing at a snail’s pace. With a frustrated sigh Remus jumped up from his couch where he had briefly settled in hopes of finding a comfortable spot to wait, he let his eyes quickly scan his apartment seeking a task to distract himself. Spying his small watering can sitting by a bookshelf Remus set to watering his plants, which wasn’t exactly a short task. Remus’s home was positively covered in living things, ferns, flowers, small potted trees and several types of moss, his apartment had abundant natural light that made them thrive filling the area with the smell of earth and life. To ensure each plant was adequately watered Remus systematically worked around the perimeter of the apartment allowing his full attention on each pot before moving to the next, he was almost halfway through when a small vibration emanating from his pocket brought him back to the present. Pulling out the phone to glance at the screen he noted that only about twenty minutes had passed, he also found that the notification was a message from Sirius.

Sirius Black (12:03): Hey, sorry I’m a bit early but I’m outside if you are ready.

Sent (12:04): No worries, do you wanna come up for a few minutes while I finish something really quick?

Sirius Black (12:04): Sure, what’s the apartment number?

Remus quickly finished texting Sirius how to get up to his apartment then went back to watering the plants as he waited for him to knock on the door. When Sirius finally made it up to his door Remus greeted him with a wide genuine smile as he took in the shorter man’s appearance. Sirius’s long black hair was as it had been when they first met with one side braided while the other was loose and silky, he was wearing a simple tee shirt with the Queen logo adorning the front it stretched across his broad chest in a way that made a light flush appear on Remus’s neck. The moment Remus had opened the door he noticed a small nervous look fade from Sirius’s face only to be replaced by a flirty smile as Remus continued to check him out.

“Remus, so whatcha working on up here?” Sirius asked still standing in the doorway.

“Oh!” Remus snapped out of the small trance he had fallen into staring at the flex of Sirius’s shirt, “Sorry, come on in,” he stepped out of the way to allow the other man to walk into the living room. “I was just watering my plants It’s kinda a process, so if I stop now, I’ll have no idea where I left off later.”

“I’m sure,” Sirius was walking slowly around the room taking in the abundance of life adorning each wall, table, bookcase, or even hanging from the ceiling. “Damn, this is beautiful, it’s like stepping into the fucking forest.”

A bit of heat crept up to Remus’s face as he turned away to continue watering, “Yeah, I kinda like plants,” he said lamely not really knowing what else to say. Apparently while he had been turned away Sirius had crept over to where Remus was working as he suddenly felt a gentle tug on the sleeve of his sweater, glancing up he was met with a grin and a questioning look.

“Yeah I’m gunna go ahead and say that’s an understatement.”

“Nope not at all,” Remus replied sarcastically, “actually it’s an overstatement I’m merely fond of them.”

Laughing at the obvious lie, Sirius rolled his eyes and moved to continue exploring Remus’s apartment as he finished tending to his plants. The two fell into a comfortable silence until Remus replaced the watering can to its place near the bookshelf and asked, “So, where are you planning for lunch?”

Sirius who had settled into a comfortable position on the couch jumped a bit at suddenly being addressed but quickly replied, “Well, I was thinking we could hit up a deli on the way out of town and get sandwiches, but if you are in the mood for something else by all means requests are open.”

“Nah, sandwiches sound great,” Remus walked over to the door and began lacing up an old beaten pair of hiking boots, “well, I’m ready when you are,” he said standing up from his crouched position.

“I guess we’re off then.” The two quickly made their way down to the front of the building where Sirius had parked his bike, upon seeing it Remus’s heart sped up a bit and he made a small broken groan at the sight.

“What, don’t tell me you’re nervous again?” Sirius asked with a chuckle as he straddled the bike.

“Who me? Nervous? To get on a speeding metal death trap with a man I barely know? Nah, what makes you say that?”

“Oh, come on you had fun last time and you know it, besides what better way to build trust then to let them potentially kill you in a fiery crash.” Sirius held out a helmet to Remus who simply rolled his eyes before grabbing it and buckling it on.

Sliding into place behind him Remus tightly wrapped his arms around Sirius’s ribs and shouted to be heard over the roaring engine, “Well, I guess we’ll see if you get to keep that trust, I am going to warn you though if you kill us in a motorcycle crash before the end of Chicago my director will personally resurrect you just so he can have the satisfaction of killing you himself.”

“Noted,” Sirius replied just before finally pulling away from the curb.

***

As the two made their way out of the city they quickly stopped to grab lunch before heading out once more. Sirius could feel Remus’s chest pressed firmly to his back as they wound their way through the outskirts, and the heat radiating through his thin tee shirt warmed him far more than the August sunlight. As the road stretched before them, the drive growing longer Remus’s body gradually relaxed until Sirius could feel the other man’s head drop onto his shoulder and gently nuzzle against his neck. The small action prompted a riot of butterflies to stir themselves to life inside Sirius’s stomach. 

Eventually the couple pulled into a parking lot that also served as the trailhead for the botanical garden, once Sirius cut the engine, they were surrounded by the sounds of the forest. Tall pines that kissed the sky filtered the harsh sunlight through their boughs until only soft rays were cast across their faces, the trail was of hard packed soil that had seen countless people down it, and large bushes surrounded the edges ensuring the place maintained it wild appearance.

There is a quiet moment after the engine cuts, both are still seated on the bike neither speaking until Remus gently tightens his arms around Sirius in a soft hug before slipping off the bike. Unbuckling his helmet Sirius glanced over his shoulder to teasingly address the slightly shaky man who looked like he just narrowly escaped death, “Oh come on Remus it’s not that bad.”

“Yeah maybe for you who does this on the daily, but for me I can literally still feel my bones vibrating in my body.” Remus handed back the helmet in his trembling grip.

Sirius slipped off the bike and quickly stowed the helmets away before sauntering over to where Remus was standing, “Hmm, you do get used to it after a while. I remember the first couple of times I rode whenever I got off, I would stumble around like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time. One time I actually almost got a ticket cause a cop thought I was drunk when I couldn’t walk in a straight line.” Remus chuckled at the story before Sirius continued, “But in all honesty though if you really don’t want to ride, I do have other methods of transportation.”

“Oh, I definitely wanna ride, just you know maybe not the bike.” Remus’s grin shifted into a playful smirk as he watched a blush creep up to Sirius’s ears.

“My, my, are you flirting with me Remus?”

“Well yeah, because believe me I do not have the personality to make this an enjoyable date without flirting.”

“Now come on, I don’t believe that.”

“Don’t worry you will.”

Giving Remus a small exasperated look at the self-deprecating tone that had settled into his voice as they began making their way down the well-worn path, “We’ll see.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence neither knowing what to say to begin a conversation but also not feeling pressured to start one. They simply walked, side by side, enjoying the warm sunlight and faint sounds of the forest together. Soon they reached the end of the short trail, the trees that had been surrounding them opened up to reveal a large open field, stone lined paths snaked through the grass following the natural slope of the land, flower beds filled with countless species of native plants and flowers sat just past the rows of rocks marking the path. At he beginning of each pathway a large boulder sat with a wooden sign fixed to it describing the various species housed in each flower bed, tall deciduous trees were dotted throughout the area casting just enough shade to make the place even more inviting. Sat just passed the field were several small buildings and a larger building that looked like a green house.

The moment the two stepped into the clearing Sirius watched as Remus’s entire face lit up an infectious grin taking permanent residence on his lips.

“Wow, it has been so long since I’ve had a chance to come here, the staff has really put in a lot of work on improving.” Remus turned his brilliant smile on to Sirius effectively melting his heart to a puddle of goo, “Would you like to see some of my favorites?”

“Absolutely, lead the way.” Sirius answered without a second thought wanting nothing more than to keep that smile on his face. Remus led them down a path not bothering to look at the sign, they walked for a moment until he stopped in front of a flowerbed containing countless purple flowers growing up from the soil in spikes.

“Disclaimer,” Remus’s voice turned firm for a split moment before turning back to his usual light tone, “don’t laugh at the irony of this being my favorite flower because I know you’ll want to. Anyways these are lupins, they are actually really cool plants because they are legumes. The thing about legumes that make them special is that they fix nitrogen into the soil, lupins will flourish in areas with infertile soil but because of their ability to replenish the nitrogen content they can actively turn hostile environments into places other plants can grow as well. This helps to promote biodiversity among countless organisms.”

Sirius listened as Remus talked about the qualities of the plant until he was ready to move on to the next, the more he talked about these plants he was so passionate about the more Sirius could see the joy radiating off of him. They slowly were making their way through the garden pausing occasionally for Remus to describe the various characteristics and qualities of the different species, it was during one of these moments when a small group of children that had been passing them stopped to listen to what Remus was saying. Without missing a beat, he began to engage with the kids teaching them about the plants. Sirius was perfectly content to watch and listen as Remus became the unofficial tour guide around the garden. Soon he was leading them through the green house which he explained was reserved for nonnative or invasive species that couldn’t be allowed to grow outside, the kids listened with rapt attention as he described the importance of pollinators until an older woman who seemed to be completely covered in soil called out to him.

“Remus?! Is that you?” She bustled over to where they were standing and went to give Remus a hug but backed away at the last moment seeming to realize she was covered in mud. “What are you doing here I didn’t realize you were teaching already? When did you graduate?”

“Ms. Sprout! I can’t believe you are still out here! And I haven’t graduated yet still working on it, I’m actually here on a date.” As the words fell from his lips the color drained from his face, turning to find Sirius standing among the group of children he gave him an apologetic look and mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to him. “You know I would love to catch up with you another time but do you think you could help these kids find their way back to their group I’m sure their chaperone is looking for them.”

The woman chuckled deeply at the hasty excuse, “Certainly I will, you have fun on the rest of your date. And don’t be a stranger we always love to have you out here.” Quickly the woman gathered up the kids and ushered them back out toward their group.

With a bit of a bashful smile on his face and an apologetic look Remus made his way over to where Sirius was standing, “I’m sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away there. Were supposed to be on a date and here I am turning it into a middle school field trip.”

Sirius chuckled, “It’s alright, I was actually enjoying watching you interact with them and listening to you talk. I love that you’re so passionate about all of this,” he swept his arms wide gesturing to their surroundings, “that you can’t help but share it with others, it’s cute.”

A bright flush painted Remus’s cheeks at the earnest complement, “Oh, come on now you’re gunna embarrass me. Let’s go, let’s go sit outside for a bit.” 

“Sure thing,” Sirius agreed still grinning at Remus’s embarrassment, gently taking the other man’s hand he led them back outside to a bench sitting below a luscious green tree. Once they were comfortably seated in the shade Sirius let his curiosity get the better of him, “So, do you mind if I ask who the woman was back in the greenhouse?”

“Oh, yeah sure, that was Pomona Sprout. She and I were actually part of the original team that worked to build this place, of course I was only a volunteer at the time. I had no idea she was still out here.”

“You helped build this place?” Sirius asked with awe and a hint of disbelief in his voice, “Remus, that’s amazing. Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I don’t know, it didn’t seem relevant,” he shrugged dismissing the complement “and even though I worked on it way back when I honestly haven’t been back here in probably two years, I was excited to see everything again and show you it all.”

“Well then I’m gunna say that this date has been a win,” Sirius smiled as his voice took on a teasing tone, “and even though we became the tour guide and chaperone of a middle school field trip, I’ve really enjoyed being here with you,” as the words fell from his lips Sirius’s voice shifted, dropping lower and becoming genuine.

At the change of tone Remus looked up from the blade of grass he had been fiddling with to meet Sirius’s earnest eyes. Seeing the look of affection shining in bright silver, Remus was overwhelmed with the feeling of needing to be closer to this man who had come into his life. Before he realized it, Remus felt his body leaning, reaching for Sirius, aching to connect; his eyes drifted closed as the distance between them lessened until he could feel Sirius’s plush lips on his own. Together they moved soft and slow, until Sirius took control deepening the kiss his tongue deftly exploring until Remus was gasping for breath. Remus’s heart beat hard against his ribs as Sirius tugged him closer until their bodies were pressed flush together heat burning through the thin layers of their clothes. Remus let his hands wander slowly from where they had settled on Sirius’s waist up until they had woven through silky black strands of hair, Sirius gasped as his grip tightened tugging gently.

The moment seemed to last forever but was also over far to soon for either of their liking, after breaking apart both sat for a moment still pressed together each catching their breath before reluctantly shifting apart.

Remus exhaled a bit shakily before breaking the silence that had settled between them, “Well… that was lovely,” he said not really knowing what else to say.

Sirius chuckled at the silly comment, “Really? Lovely? That all you’ve got?”

“Hey, its not like you were coming up with any witty one liners,” Remus responded indignantly.

“Hmm, maybe I just like being quiet after an amazing kiss?” Sirius teased; Remus simply huffed and turned away in annoyance at the remark. “Hey,” Sirius said running his fingers soothingly through Remus’s sun warmed curls, “I’m kidding, I thought it was lovely as well.”

Rolling his eyes at their banter he decided to change the subject, “Anyway, so, are you wanting to be done for the day or are you up for more plants?”

“Well, I’m certainly up, but I would also like to keep exploring the garden.”

“Oh, come on that was a pathetic excuse for a dick joke, you can do better than that,” Remus said standing up from the bench that had now become bathed in afternoon sunlight, he held out his hand in an offer to the other man.

“Probably, but I couldn’t think of anything else in the moment,” Sirius replied taking Remus’s hand, and letting himself be hauled to his feet. “I’ll let you know if I think of something better though.”

With another roll of his eyes, Remus smiled and laced the fingers of their still clasped hands together, “You do that,” he said as they started down another path to continue exploring. They spent the rest of their afternoon exchanging cheesy jokes and enjoying each other’s company. 


End file.
